Wireless Adapter

ABSTRACT

The present embodiments relates to wireless adaptors. In one embodiment, a method is provided. The method may include obtaining an adaptor-device identification that identifies both a wireless adaptor and a wired device coupled with the wireless adaptor; and communicating with a network device via a wireless network using the adaptor-device identification, the wired device being distinguishable from other wired devices using the adaptor-device identification.

CROSS REFERENCE

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.12/945,139 filed Nov. 12, 2010, and entitled Wireless Adapter, now U.S.Pat. No. 9,008,723, issued Apr. 14, 2015 (Attorney Docket No. 149),which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. provisionalapplication No. 61/293,444 filed Jan. 8, 2010, each of which isincorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The present embodiments relate generally to wireless adaptors.

BACKGROUND

Communication devices may be configured for wireless communication, forexample, using an embedded wireless system, such as a radio. However,some communication devices are not configured for wireless communicationfor various reasons including, but not limited to, cost and size.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a wireless network including anetwork device, wired device, and a wireless adaptor;

FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a wireless adaptor;

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of communication transmitted between awireless adaptor and a network device;

FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a wireless USB adaptor;

FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment of the wireless network;

FIG. 6 illustrates yet another embodiment of the wireless network;

FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment of a method for using a wireless USBadaptor;

FIG. 8 illustrates one embodiment of a method for retrieving wireddevice information;

FIG. 9 illustrates one embodiment of a method for generating anadaptor-device identification;

FIG. 10 illustrates one embodiment of a method for facilitatingcommunication between a wired device and a network device via a wirelessnetwork; and

FIG. 11 illustrates one embodiment of a request message and a responsemessage used to obtain wired device information.

DESCRIPTION Overview

The present embodiments relate generally to wireless communication. Inone embodiment, a network includes a network device, a wired device, anda wireless adaptor. The wireless adaptor is communicatively coupled withthe network device via a wireless network and the wired device via awired connection. The wireless adaptor is operable to relay or routecommunication from/to the wired device. The communication may betransmitted and/or received via the wireless network. The wirelessadaptor may be configured or operable to distinguish communication forthe wired device from communication for other wired devices using anadaptor-device identification that uniquely identifies the wirelessadaptor. As a result, the wireless adaptor may dynamically adoptpersonalities of the wired devices coupled to the wireless adaptor.

Present Embodiments

The present embodiments relate generally to wireless adaptors. In oneembodiment, a wireless adaptor is provided. Wireless adaptors may beconfigured to connect to and communicate with a wired device andcommunicate with a network device via a wireless network. Wirelessadaptors allow the wired device to communicate wirelessly. Wirelessadaptors may include one or more wired connectors, a wirelesscommunication system, a processor, and a memory. The wired connector maybe communicatively coupled with the wired device. The wirelesscommunication system may be configured to communicate using a wirelessnetwork. In one embodiment, the wireless communication system may be awireless local area network (WLAN) product that is based on theInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' (IEEE) 802.11standards. Accordingly, the wireless adaptor allows the wired device toconnect to and communicate via wireless networks, such as the wirelesslocal area network.

In one embodiment, the wireless adaptor is operable to changepersonalities based on the wired device using the wireless adaptor tocommunicate wirelessly. Changing personalities may include changing,publishing, and/or broadcasting one or more unique identifiers or nameprior to, with, or after communication associated with the wired device.In other words, the wireless adaptor is operable to transmitcommunication that is unique or specific to the wired device.Accordingly, the wireless adaptor may be configured or operable todistinguish communication for the wired device from communication forother wired devices using an adaptor-device identification that uniquelyidentifies the wireless adaptor. As a result, the wireless adaptor maydynamically adopt personalities of the wired devices coupled to thewireless adaptor.

In one aspect, a method includes obtaining an adaptor-deviceidentification that identifies both a wireless adaptor and a wireddevice coupled with the wireless adaptor; and communicating with anetwork device via a wireless network using the adaptor-deviceidentification, the adaptor-device identification uniquely identifyingthe wired device. The adaptor-device identification distinguishing thewired device from other wired devices configured to be connected to thewireless adaptor.

In a second aspect, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium isencoded with instructions is provided. The instructions are capable ofbeing executed by a computer to: obtain an adaptor-device identificationthat identifies both a wireless adaptor and a wired device coupled withthe wireless adaptor; and communicate with a network device via awireless network using the adaptor-device identification, the wireddevice being distinguishable from other wired devices using theadaptor-device identification.

In a third aspect, an apparatus includes a memory, a wirelesscommunication interface, and a plurality of wired connectors. The memorystores adaptor identification information uniquely identifying theapparatus. The wireless communication interface is configured tocommunicate wirelessly with a network device using the adapteridentification information. The plurality of wired connectors areconfigured to communicate with a plurality of wired devices and receivea plurality of wired device identification values from the plurality ofwired devices, wherein the apparatus is configured to communicatedifferently for each of the wired devices according to the plurality ofwired device identification values.

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a wireless network 100. Thewireless network 100 may include a network device 110, a wired device120, and a wireless adaptor 130. The network device 110 may becommunicatively coupled with the wireless adaptor 130 via the wirelessnetwork 102. The wired device 120 may be communicatively coupled withthe wireless adaptor 130 via the wired connection 104. Coupled with mayinclude directly connected to or indirectly connected through one ormore intermediary components. Intermediary components may includehardware, software, networks, or a combination thereof. The wirelessnetwork 100 may include additional, different, or fewer components.

The network device 110 may be a router, gateway, personal computer,mobile device, universal serial bus (“USB”) device, Firewire® device,cellular phone, personal digital assistant, or other device operable tocommunicate via wireless network 102. The network device 110 may beoperable to transmit and/or receive communication via the wirelessnetwork 102. Communication may include messages, signals, or packetscarrying information or data. In an alternative embodiment, thecommunication may not carry information or data.

The wireless network 102 may be any type of network that is wireless,such as a wireless local area network, wireless wide area network,wireless personal area network, wireless metropolitan area network,mobile device network, cellular network, WiFi, or other now known orlater developed networks. The wireless network 102 may be atelecommunications network whose interconnections between nodes, such asthe network device 110 and wireless adaptor 130, are implemented withoutthe use of wires or cables. The wireless network 102 may use a remoteinformation transmission system that uses electromagnetic waves, such asradio waves, as the carrier. The wireless transmission may occur at thephysical level or “layer” of the network 102.

In one embodiment, the wireless network 102 is a Wi-FI® network.Accordingly, the wireless network 102 may be a wireless local areanetwork (WLAN) that is configured based on the Institute of Electricaland Electronics Engineers' (IEEE) 802.11 standards including, but notlimited to, 802.11b, 802.11a, or dual-band. The wireless network 102 mayuse radio waves that provide wireless high-speed Internet and networkconnections. The wireless network 102 may connect the network device 110and wireless adaptor 130 via a wireless distribution method, such asspread-spectrum or OFDM radio. The wireless network 102 may operate withno physical wired connection between the network device 110 and thewireless adaptor 130 by using, for example, the radio frequency (RF), afrequency within the electromagnetic spectrum associated with radio wavepropagation. In other words, the wireless network 102 may use any radiofrequency band (e.g., 2.5 GHz for 802.11b, 802.11g, or 802.11n, and 5GHz for 802.11a). In contrast to technology that is limited a shortrange (e.g., 2 feet), the wireless network 102, for example, whenconfigured as a Wi-Fi® network, allows the network device 110 and thewireless adaptor 130 to be located at increased distances from eachother (e.g., 3 feet, 20 feet, 50 feet, 500+ feet). Other frequencies,communications standards, and ranges may be used.

The wired device 120 may be a USB device (e.g., a device having a USBport or interface), Firewire® device (e.g., a device having a IEEE 1394interface), serial advanced technology attachment (SATA) device (e.g., adevice having a SATA port or interface), controller area network (CAN)device, Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) device (e.g., a device having twobidirectional open-drain lines), or other device having a wired portand/or interface connection. Accordingly, the wired device 120 may be amobile device, personal computer, USB flash drive, robot (e.g., LegoMindstorms NXT), gaming system (e.g., X-box®), gaming controller,external hard drive, personal digital assistant, music player, memorydevice, laptop, router, gateway, network device, printer, scanner,digital camera, MP3 player, hard disk, or other device.

The wired device 120 may be operable to transmit and/or receivecommunication via the wired connection 104. The wired connection 104 mayinclude a port, connector, cable, wire, circuit, bus, contact, otherdevice or system for transferring communication, or a combinationthereof. In one embodiment, the wired connection 104 may be a connectionbetween a USB connector and a USB port. The wired connection 104 may usea wire or cable. Alternatively, the wired connection 104 is betweenmating connectors without a wire or cable.

In one embodiment, the wired device 120 may be operable to wirelesslycommunicate, for example, via the wireless network 102. Accordingly, thewired device 120 may include a wireless communication system operable totransmit and/or received wireless communication. The wirelesscommunication system may be embedded in the wired device 120, forexample, as a wireless USB circuit. Wireless USB is a short-range,high-bandwidth wireless radio communication protocol created by theWireless USB Promoter Group. Wireless USB is based on the WiMediaAlliance's Ultra-WideBand (UWB) common radio platform, which is capableof sending 480 Mbis/s at distances up to 3 meters and 110 Mbit/s at upto 10 meters. Wireless USB operates in the 3.1 to 10.6 GHz frequencyrange. Due to the short range of Wireless USB, the wired device 120 mayneed the ability to communicate with network devices outside the rangeof the wireless USB.

In another embodiment, the wired device 120 is not operable, without thewireless adaptor 130, to communicate via any wireless network 102. Inother words, the wired device 120 does not include a native, embedded,and/or local wireless communication system. The wired device 120 may notinclude a wireless communication system for various reasons including,but not limited to, cost and size. For example, in order to maintain alow manufacturing cost or reduced size, the wired device 120 (e.g., adigital camera) may not be manufactured or sold with a wirelesscommunication system. Without a wireless communication system, the wireddevice 120 is unable to connect to the network device 110 via thewireless network 102. In other words, the wired device 120 is unable tocommunicate with the network device 110 without a physical connection orunable to communicate at all.

The wired device 120 may be an enumerated wired device. An enumeratedwired device may be distinguishable from other similar types or stylesof wired devices. For example, the wired device 120 may be a firstdigital camera. The first digital camera may be distinguishable, forexample, having a unique serial number, address, or unique identifier,from other similar styles of digital cameras or other types of devices.

As discussed in more detail below, the wired device 120 may include awired connector 122. The wired connector 122 may be part of the wiredconnection 104 that communicatively couples the wired device 120 and thewireless adaptor 130.

FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of the wireless adaptor 130. Thewireless adaptor 130 may include a processor 132, a memory 134, awireless communication system 136, a power supply 138, and one or morewired connectors 140. The wireless adaptor 130 may include additional,different, or fewer components. For example, in one embodiment, thewireless adaptor 130 may include a housing 142. The housing 142 maysurround, protect, and/or enclose all, some, or none of the componentsin the wireless adaptor 130. The housing 142 may include any suitablesize, shape, and material. In another embodiment,

The processor 132 may be communicatively coupled with the memory 134,wireless communication system 136, power supply 138, one or more wiredconnectors 140. The processor 132 may be coupled with the othercomponents via a bus, circuit, wire, cable, network (e.g., wired orwireless), or other connection.

The processor 132 may be a general processor, digital signal processor,application specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array,analog circuit, digital circuit, combinations thereof, or other nowknown or later developed processor. The processor 132 may be a singledevice or combinations of devices, such as associated with a network ordistributed processing. Any of various processing strategies may beused, such as multi-processing, multi-tasking, parallel processing,remote processing, centralized processing or the like. The processor 132may be responsive to or operable to execute instructions stored as partof software, hardware, integrated circuits, firmware, micro-code or thelike. The functions, acts, methods or tasks illustrated in the figuresor described herein may be performed by the processor 132 executinginstructions stored in the memory 134. The functions, acts, methods ortasks are independent of the particular type of instructions set,storage media, processor or processing strategy and may be performed bysoftware, hardware, integrated circuits, firmware, micro-code and thelike, operating alone or in combination. The instructions are forimplementing the processes, techniques, methods, or acts describedherein.

The memory 134 may be any now known or later discovered data storagedevice. The memory 134 may include a non-volatile and/or volatilememory, such as a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM),an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or flash memory. Thememory 134 may include an optical, magnetic (hard-drive) or any otherform of data storage device. The memory 134 may be removable. Forexample, the memory 330 may be disposed or located in remote device,such as the wired device 120 or removable memory (e.g., SD memory card).

The memory 134 may store information, such as adaptor identificationinformation, wired device identification information, both adaptoridentification and wired device identification information,adaptor-device identification information, or other information. Thememory 134 may also store computer executable instructions. Theprocessor 132 may execute computer executable instructions. The computerexecutable instructions may be included in computer code. The computercode may be stored in the memory 134. The computer code may be writtenin any computer language now known or later discovered, such as C++, C#,Java, Pascal, Visual Basic, Perl, HyperText Markup Language (HTML),JavaScript, assembly language, and any combination thereof. The computercode may be instructions encoded in one or more computer readable mediafor execution by the processor 132. The computer readable media may betangible and non-transitory. Tangible and non-transitory computerreadable media includes all forms of media which are not transientsignals.

The wireless communication system 136 or wireless communicationinterface may be a radio communication system, radio, transceiver,network communication system, microwave communication system, any nowknown or later developed system for transmitting and/or receivingsignals, or any combination thereof. For example, the wirelesscommunication system 136 may be a combination of a radio communicationsystem operative to communicate using radio waves and a networkcommunication system that provides networking services, such as routingand/or switching. The wireless communication system 136 may include anycombination of components used for communicating via a wireless network102, such as a radio, antenna, wireless circuitry, wireless interfaces,or other wireless components. The wireless communication system 136 maycommunicate with an antenna of the network device 110 via the wirelessnetwork 102.

The power supply 138 may provide power to the components of the wirelessadaptor 130. The power supply 138 may be an internal power supplyindependent from the wired device 120. One advantage of having aninternal power supply, in combination with the other components of thewireless adaptor 130 is diagnosis of the wired device 120. For example,in the event that the wired device 120 loses power, the wireless adaptor130 may continue to provide communication to the network device 110.Such communication may indicate that the wired device 120 lost power andthat the network connectivity is still working properly. In analternative embodiment, the power may be received from an external powersupply. For example, the power for the components of the wirelessadaptor may be received from the wired device 120 when connected.

The wired connection 104 may be a non-wireless connection, such as a USBconnection, Firewire® connection, contact pin connection, or other wiredsystem. The wired connection 104 may include wired connectors 122 and140. In one embodiment, one or both of the wired connectors 122 and 140may be USB connectors, Firewire connectors, SATA connectors, CANconnectors, I2C connectors, other non-wireless connectors, orcombinations thereof. The wired device 120 may include the wiredconnector 122 and the wireless adaptor 130 may include the wiredconnector 140. The wired connectors 122 and 140 may include ports,interfaces, connectors, wires, circuits, physical contacts, otherphysical devices or connections, or a combination thereof. For example,as shown in FIG. 2, the wired connector 122 a may be a USB plug-in(e.g., male) connector and the wired connector 140 a may be a USB port(e.g., female). In an alternative embodiment, the wired device 130 c mayinclude the USB port and the wireless adaptor 130 may include the USBplug-in connector. In another embodiment, the wired connector 122 b mayinclude a combination of connectors and one or more wires. Inalternative embodiments, the wired connection 104 may be replaced with awireless connection, for example, using wireless USB or othershort-range wireless connection.

The wired connectors 122 and 140 may take any form, size, or shape. Forexample, the wired connectors 122 and 140 may be pivotable orretractable into and out of a housing, such as the housing 142 or thehousing for the wired device 120. Other configurations of the USBconnectors 122 and 140 may be used. The USB connectors 104 and 140provide a USB connection between the wireless adaptor 130 and the wireddevice 120.

The wired connector 140 may be communicatively coupled with theprocessor 132. Accordingly, the wired device 120 and the wirelessadaptor 130 may communicate via the wired connection 104. Communicationmay be passed back and forth between wired device 120 and the wirelessadaptor 130 via the wired connectors 122 and 140.

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of the wireless network 100 operableto transmit communication 300 back and forth between the network device110 and the wireless adaptor 120. The communication 300 may be signals,messages, packets, or other types of communication communicated acrossthe wireless network 102. For example, a request message may betransmitted from the network device 110 to the wired device 120 via theadaptor 130. In response to a request message, the wired device 120 maytransmit a response message via the adaptor 130.

The wireless adaptor 130 is operable to transmit and/or receivecommunication that is tailored, configured, or designed based on aparticular or specific wired device 120. For example, in one embodiment,in addition to including an adaptor identification 310, which identifiesthe wireless adaptor 130, the wireless adaptor may add a wired deviceidentification 320 to communication 300 transmitted from the wirelessadaptor 130. In another embodiment, in response to receivingcommunication 300, the wireless adaptor 130 is operable to analyze androute the communication 300 based on the wired device identification320. The communication 300 may be routed to the appropriate wired device120. The communication 300 may include a payload or other data beingtransferred between the network device 110 and the wired device 120, forexample, the communication 300 may include a request or response.

The adaptor identification 310 may identify the wireless adaptor 130transmitting and/or receiving communication via wireless network 102.The adaptor identification 310 may be a unique identification, such as anetwork address, Internet Protocol (IP) address, Media Access Control(MAC) address, serial number, Bluetooth identifier, productidentification, vendor identification, class identification, combinationthereof, or other name or identification that uniquely identifies theadaptor 130. The adaptor identification 310 may be unique or specific tothe wireless adaptor 130. In one embodiment, the adaptor identification310 may be a default identification that identifies the wireless adaptor130.

For example, in one embodiment, the adaptor identification 310 may be aMedia Access Control (MAC) address for the wireless adaptor 130. The MACaddress is a unique identifier assigned by the manufacturer foridentification, and used in the Media Access Control protocol sub-layer.If assigned by the manufacturer, the MAC address may encode themanufacturer's registered identification number. It may also be known asan Ethernet Hardware Address (EHA), hardware address, adapter address,or physical address. The MAC address may be a permanent and globallyunique identification. However, in other embodiment, the MAC address maybe changed (e.g., MAC spoofing). Unlike IP address spoofing, where asender spoofing their address in a request tricks the other party intosending the response elsewhere, in MAC address spoofing (which takesplace only within a local area network), the response is received by thespoofing party. A host cannot determine from the MAC address of anotherhost whether that host is on the same OSI Layer 2 network segment as thesending host, or on a network segment bridged to that network segment.In TCP/IP networks, the MAC address of a subnet interface can be queriedwith the IP address using the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) forInternet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4) or the Neighbor Discovery Protocol(NDP) for IPv6. On broadcast networks, such as Ethernet, the MAC addressuniquely identifies each node and allows frames to be marked forspecific hosts. It thus forms the basis of most of the Link layer (OSILayer 2) networking upon which upper layer protocols rely to producecomplex, functioning networks.

In other embodiments, the adaptor identification 310 may be a pre-cannedname, random name, a variation of the last name used, a programmed name,or any combination thereof.

The wired device identification 320 may identify the wired device 120transmitting and/or receiving communication via the wireless adaptor130. The wired device identification 320 may be a unique identification.In other words, the adaptor identification 310 may be unique or specificto the wired device 120. The wired device identification 320 may bedetermined based on wired device information, for example, retrievedfrom memory or the wired device 120.

For example, in one embodiment, the wired device identification 320 maybe a USB identification. The USB identification may be a classidentification. The adaptor 130 may request or query USB informationfrom the wired device 130, which in this example is a USB device. Thewired device 130 may return a product identification (PID), a vendoridentification, VID), a class identification, or a combination thereof.The class identification may be obtained using the PID and VID. Theclass identification may be a wired device-specific identification andmay be unique to the wired device 120 (e.g., even if the PID and VID arethe same as other wired devices 120).

In other embodiments, the wired device identification 320 may includeother unique identifiers, such as network addresses, Internet Protocol(IP) addresses, Media Access Control (MAC) addresses, serial numbers,Bluetooth identifiers, product identifications, vendor identifications,class identifications, combinations thereof, or other names oridentifications that uniquely identifies the wired device 120. Theadaptor identification 310 and wired device identification 320 may beused for publishing communication that is specific to the wired device120. In other words, using the adaptor identification 310 and wireddevice identification 320, communication from the wired device 120 maybe distinguished from communication from other wired devices. Forexample, the adaptor identification 310, such as an IP address, may bethe same for multiple wired devices 120. However, the communication maybe published to different Web pages. A single IP address may serve upmultiple websites. For example, the wired device identifications 320 mayact as host headers that distinguish between different pages when goingto the same IP address.

The adaptor identification 310 and wired device identification 320 maybe combined to obtain an adaptor-device identification. The wirelessadaptor 130 may be configured or operable to distinguish communicationfor the wired device 120 from communication for other wired devicesusing the adaptor-device identification that uniquely identifies thewired device 120 and/or the wireless adaptor 130. As a result, thewireless adaptor 130 may dynamically adopt personalities of the wireddevices coupled to the wireless adaptor. For example, in one embodiment,as shown in FIG. 3, the wireless adaptor 130 may receive communication300, communication 330, and/or communication 340, for example, from thenetwork device 110 via the wireless network 102. The communication 300,330, 340 may be received simultaneously or at different times.

The wireless adaptor 130 may use the wired device identification 320 todistinguish between the communication 300, 330, and 340. For example,the wired device identification 320 may be used to determine that thecommunication 300 is to be routed to the wired device 120 a,communication 330 is to be routed to the wired device 120 b, andcommunication 340 is to be routed to the wired device 120 c. In analternative embodiment, the adaptor-device identifications may be usedto distinguish between communications being transmitted from thewireless adaptor 130 to the network device 110 via the wireless network102. The network device 110 may distinguish between the communication300, 330, and 340 based on the adaptor-device identifications. Thewireless adaptor 130 may distinguish between communications intended fora connected wired device 120, such as determining that the communicationis intended for another wireless adaptor. The adaptor identification maybe used. Alternatively, the wireless adaptor 130 uses the wired deviceidentification without the adaptor identification. Any communicationsare labeled with the wired device 120 identification so that thewireless adaptor 130 acts as the wired device 120 on transmission orroutes on reception.

FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a wireless adaptor 130 including amemory 134. The memory 134 may store logic for establishing networkconnectivity 410, logic for retrieving wired device information 420,logic for generating an adaptor-device identification 430, logic forpublishing an adaptor-device identification 440, logic for routingcommunication to the wired device 450, logic for transmittingcommunication to the network device 460, logic for publishing one ormore ports 470, and logic for unpublishing the adaptor-deviceidentification 480. All or a portion of the logic 410-480 may be stored,disposed, or located in one or more remote devices, such as the wireddevice 120 or a removable memory device (e.g., an SD memory card orother memory). As discussed above, the various logic components may bestored as instructions embodied on one or more computer readable media.

In one embodiment, the logic for establishing network connectivity 410may be executed, for example, in response to the wireless adaptor 130being powered up, a command, or one or more wired device 120 beingconnected to the wireless adaptor 130. The network connectivity may beestablished using a wireless identifier, such as a default name or theadaptor identification 310. The logic 410 may be executed to broadcastthe wireless identifier, for example, using network discovery protocols(e.g., Bonjour, Netbios) that recognize the name and provide theappropriate mapping. Once network connectivity is established, thewireless adaptor 130 may be operable to communicate via the wirelessnetwork 102 using the adaptor identification 310. The logic 410 may alsobe executed to request a status, view configuration, or even setconfiguration information. Broadcasting the wireless identifier allowsthe wireless adaptor to communicate when not connected to a wireddevice, yet take on the personality of the wired device when connected.Once network connectivity is established, the network device 110 and/oradaptor 130 may function as a server, such as a web server that servesWeb pages to a network. For example, the network device 110 may serveWeb pages to an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with thewireless adaptor 130.

The logic for retrieving wired device information 420 may be executed toretrieve wired device information. Wired device information may includea username, device name, serial number, information relating to theoperation of the wired device 120, or any combination thereof. Forexample, when the wireless adapter 130 detects that the wired device 120is plugged in, the logic 420 may be executed to retrieve the USBinformation and any identifying information about the wired device 130.Retrieving information may include requesting the information from thewired device 130, extracting the information from the memory 134, orotherwise obtaining the information from the network 100. The wireddevice information may be used to generate or used as the wired deviceidentification 320. In an alternative embodiment, the wired deviceidentification may be retrieved or requested, for example, from thememory 134 or wired device 120.

The logic for generating an adaptor-device identification 430 may beexecuted to generate an adaptor-device identification that is specificto the combination of the wireless adaptor 130 and the wired device 120using the wireless adaptor 130. For example, in one embodiment, theadaptor-device identification may be a combination of the wirelessadaptor identification 310 and the wired device identification 320.Generating an adaptor-device identification may include retrieving theadaptor-device identification from memory or requesting theadaptor-device identification from a remote location. In an alternativeembodiment, the adaptor identification 310 and wired deviceidentification 320 may be used, stored, or located independently of eachother. A random or calculated identification may be used where a tableassociating different identifications with wired devices is maintained.

The logic for publishing an adaptor-device identification 440 may beexecuted to publish the adaptor-device identification via the wirelessnetwork 102. The adaptor-device identification may be published usingthe same discovery protocols as were used to establish the networkconnectivity. In other words, the logic 440 may be operable to providethe adaptor-device identification to the network device 110, such thatthe network device 110 is operable to communicate with the wired device120 via the wireless adaptor 130. The adaptor-device identification mayreplace the originally published adaptor identification that wasbroadcast. In an alternative embodiment, the wired device identification320 may be broadcast, such that the adaptor identification 310 and wireddevice identification 320 may be combined together by the networkdevice. Accordingly, when transmitting communication to the wired device120, the network device 110 may use the adaptor-device identification440.

The logic for routing communication to the wired device 450 may beexecuted to accurately route communication to a wired device 120. Thewireless adaptor 130 may receive communication from the network device110 via the wireless network 102. The wireless adaptor 130 may executethe logic 450 to analyze the communication. Analyzing the communicationmay include extracting wired device identification from theadaptor-device identification. Based on the wired device identification,the logic 450 may be executed to route the communication to theappropriate wired device 120. Analyzing the communication may includeextracting the identification information and looking up the associatedwired device.

The logic for transmitting communication to the network device 460 maybe executed to transmit communication to a network device 110 via thewireless network 102.

The logic 460 may be executed to receive communication from the wireddevice 120 and add an adaptor-device identification to thecommunication. Adding the adaptor-device identification may includebundling the adaptor-device identification and a payload or other databeing transmitted between the network device 110 and wired device 120.In other embodiments, the device identification is provided with thecommunication by the wired device, and the wireless adaptor merelypasses on the identification without change.

The logic for publishing one or more ports 470 may be executed topublish one or more ports. In one embodiment, the wireless adaptor maypublish one or more channels via the wireless network 102. One or moreserial communications channel to the wired device may be published. Theone or more serial communications channels may pass messages to/from theUSB port unidirectionally or bidirectionally. Communication may befull-duplex. In other words, communication may be sent bidirectionallyand simultaneously. Such a communications channel typically is done viaa known transmission control protocol (“TCP”) port, but can also beexposed via the user datagram protocol (“UDP”) or stream controltransmission protocol (“SCTP”). A sequential interface on the networkside carrying the traffic to/from the wired port of the wireless adaptor130. In other words, communication may be sent to specific ports of thewireless adaptor 130 based on what wired device 120 is connected to thewired port and the adaptor-device identification in the communication.In another embodiment, a management interface (typically via HTTP) toprovide status and configuration information about the device (if any)that is connected to the adapter. The management interface may retrieveinformation provided by the wired device 120.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the adapter 130 may interleave responsesand/or requests transmitted back and forth between a network device 110and a wired device. Interleaving may include organizing, associating,tracking, or otherwise accurately routing. Two network devices 110 a and110 b may access or attempt to access the wired device 120 at the sameor different times. In one example, the wired device 120 is a digitalcamera and the network device 110 a starts to download pictures. Inorder to download the pictures, the network device 110 a sends a requestto read sector <x> via network connection 102 a to adapter 130. Adaptor130 receives and notes the request from the network device 110 a, marksthe request as pending a response for network device 110 a, and forwardsthe read sector <x> request over wired connection 104 to the wireddevice 120. At the same or different time, network device 110 b connectsto the adaptor 130 and makes a request to read sector <y> via wirelessnetwork 102 b. Adaptor 130 receives and notes the request from networkdevice 110 b, marks the request pending a response for network device110 b, and forwards the read sector <y> request over wired connection104 to wired device 120. When adaptor 130 detects the response for theread sector <x> request, it compares it to the list of outstandingrequests, determines that the response is associated with network device110 a, removes it from the list of pending requests, and forwards theresponse to network device 110 a. Similarly, when the response for readsector <y> returns, it performs the same operation forwarding theresponse to network device 110 b. In one embodiment, because therequests and responses over USB Cable System 104 b are essentiallysequential, even if the requests were effectively identical, theassociation of which Network Device to respond to can be accomplished ina FIFO manner. One advantage that this scheme also provides is that ifAdaptor 130 recognizes the request and already has the informationbecause it had recorded a previous response from USB Device 120 b for anidentical request, adaptor can respond immediately to the NetworkAdaptor without having to query the USB device.

Referring back to FIG. 4, the logic for unpublishing the adaptor-deviceidentification 480 may be executed to unpublish the adaptor-deviceinformation. If the wired device 120 is disconnected, the wireless USBadapter 130 may default or revert back to the power up configuration,for example, communicating without the wired device identification. Thelogic 480 may be executed to publish the default name using the networkdiscovery. In other words, the adaptor-device identification may beunpublished.

FIG. 6 illustrates that the wireless USB adapter 130 may act as a proxyfor any wired device 120. As a result of unpublishing the adaptor-deviceidentification, a wired device 120 may be moved from a first adaptor 130to a second adaptor 130 and continue to communicate via the wirelessnetwork 102. As illustrated in FIG. 6, that wired device 120 isinitially connected to adaptor 130 a via wired connection 104 a. When itis first connected, adaptor 130 publishes the name of wireless device120 a to wireless network 102 a providing the address of adaptor 130 aas the destination. When network device looks up device 120 c using adiscovery protocol, such as Bonjour, Rendezvous or NetBios, the adaptor130 returns the IP address of adaptor 130 a as the destination. NetworkDevice 110 can then communicate to network device 120 a through wirelessnetwork 102 a. The wired device 120 may be disconnected from adaptor 130a and plugged into adaptor 130 b via wired connection 104 b. When thewired connection 104 a is removed or an unpublish command is provided tothe adaptor 130 a, adaptor 130 a unpublishes the name of wired device120. When adaptor 130 b detects that wired device 120 is connected viawired connection 104 b to adaptor 130 b, the adaptor 130 b publishes thename of wired device 120 providing the address of adaptor 130 b as thedestination. When network device 110 looks up wired device 120 by nameas it had done previously, the address of adaptor 130 b as thedestination is returned. Accordingly, network device 110 can continue tocommunicate to wired device 120 via wireless network 102 b. The wirelessnetwork 102 a and 102 b may be the same or different wireless networks.

FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment of a method 700. The acts may beperformed in the order shown or a different order. For example, act 720may be performed before act 710. The acts may be performedautomatically, manually, or the combination thereof. The acts may beperformed by one, some, or all of the components in the system 10 ofFIG. 1 or a different system.

The method 700 may include establishing network connectivity usingadaptor identification 710; retrieving wired device information 720;generating adaptor-device identification 730; publishing adaptor-deviceidentification 740; communicating using the adaptor-deviceidentification 750; and unpublishing adaptor-device identification 750.

In act 710, a wireless adaptor may establish network connectivity.Network connectivity may be established in response to the wirelessadaptor being powered up, connection of a wired device, or othertrigger. Establishing network connectivity may include setting up andmaintaining a communication session. The network connectivity may beestablished using a default name, such as the adaptor identification310. The default name may be broadcast to one or more network devicesvia a wireless network, such that network discovery protocols (e.g.,Bonjour, Netbios) recognize the default name. Accordingly, the defaultname may be used to establish a communication session between thewireless adaptor and one or more network devices. Establishing networkconnectivity may include requesting a status, view configuration, oreven set configuration information.

In act 720, the wireless adaptor may retrieve wired device 120information. Wired device information may include a username, devicename, serial number, information relating to the operation of the wireddevice 120, or any combination thereof. FIG. 6 illustrates oneembodiment of act 720. As shown in FIG. 8, retrieving wired deviceinformation may include detecting a wired device connection, asillustrated in act 810, and requesting wired device information inresponse to detecting the wired device connection, as illustrated in act820. Requesting wired device information may include Retrievinginformation may include requesting the information from the wireddevice, extracting the information from the memory, or otherwiseobtaining the information from the network 100. For example, when thewireless adapter detects that the wired device is plugged in, the wireddevice information and any identifying information about the wireddevice may be retrieved. The wired device information may be used togenerate wired device identification. In an alternative embodiment, thewired device identification may be retrieved or requested, for example,from the memory or Wired device.

Referring back to FIG. 7, the wireless adaptor may generate anadaptor-device identification, as shown in act 730. In one embodiment,as shown in FIG. 9, generating the adaptor-device identification mayinclude generating a wired device identification using the retrievedwired device information, as shown in act 910, and combining a wirelessadaptor identification and the wired device identification, as shown inact 920. In an alternative embodiment, generating an adaptor-deviceidentification may include retrieving the adaptor-device identificationfrom memory or requesting the adaptor-device identification from aremote location. In another embodiment, the wired device identificationis used. The adaptor establishes communications again or differentlybased on the new identification information.

As shown in FIG. 7, the wireless adaptor publishes the adaptor-deviceidentification, as illustrated in act 740. The adaptor-deviceidentification may be published using the same discovery protocols aswere used to establish the network connectivity. In other words, theadaptor-device identification may be provided to the network device,such that the network device is operable to communicate with the wireddevice via the wireless adaptor. Accordingly, when transmittingcommunication to the wired device, the network device may use theadaptor-device identification.

In act 750, the wireless adaptor communicates using the adaptor deviceidentification. Communicating using the adaptor-device identificationmay include transmitting and/or receiving communication with theadaptor-device identification. For example, in one embodiment, thewireless adaptor receiving communication with the adaptor-deviceidentification and accurately routes the communication to a wireddevice. The wireless adaptor may receive communication from the networkdevice via the wireless network. The wireless adaptor may analyze thereceived communication. Analyzing the communication may includeextracting a wired device identification from the adaptor-deviceidentification and determining or identifying the wired device that thecommunication was transmitted to. Based on the wired deviceidentification, the wireless adaptor may route the communication to theappropriate wired device. In another embodiment, the wireless adaptormay transmit communication to a network device via the wireless network.Prior to transmission, the wireless adaptor may add the adaptor-deviceidentification. Adding the adaptor-device identification may includebundling the adaptor-device identification and the communication.

In act 760, the wireless adaptor may unpublish the adaptor-deviceidentification. Unpublishing the adaptor-device identification mayinclude republishing the default name. In other words, when the wireddevice is disconnected, the wireless adapter may default or revert backto the power up configuration, for example, communicating without thewired device identification. The default name may be published using thenetwork discovery.

FIG. 10 illustrates one embodiment of a method for communication. In act1010, the adaptor establishes network connectivity with a wirelessnetwork. In act 1020, the adaptor determines whether a wired device hasbeen coupled with the adaptor. Once connected (YES), the adaptor maydetermine a wired device unique identifier for the wired device, asillustrated in act 1030. The adaptor may broadcast, for example, using adiscovery protocol, the wired device unique identifier to the wirelessnetwork, as shown in act 1040. The adaptor may facilitate communicationback and forth between a network device communicating via the wirelessnetwork and the wired device coupled with the adaptor, as shown in act1050. The adaptor may determine or detect an unpublish event, such asdisconnection of the wired device or an unpublish command, asillustrated in act 1060. Until the unpublish even is detected, theadaptor may continue to facilitate communication (NO). However, once anunpublish event has been detected (YES), the adaptor may unpublish thewired device unique identifier, as shown in act 1070. Once unpublished,the wired device may be associated with another adaptor withoutinterference (e.g., miscommunication) from the original adaptor. Theadaptor may then continue to wait for a wired device to be connected, asshown in act 1100.

FIG. 11 illustrates one embodiment of using a wireless adaptor, asdiscussed in one or more of the embodiments disclosed above. Thewireless adaptor is used to bridge a communication gap between thenetwork device 110, which is configured to communicate via the wirelessnetwork 102, and the wired device 120, which is not configured tocommunicate via the wireless network 102. In this illustration, thewired device 120 may be first robot, such as a Lego Mindstorms NXTrobot, that may be used in a robotics competition. The wireless adapter130 has a default MAC address that ends, for example, in 00ABCD. Thename of the first robot is 2901. When the wireless adapter is poweredup, the wireless adaptor publishes the default MAC address duringestablishment of network connectivity. The network device 110 discoversthe wireless adaptor and publishes the communication on a network, forexample, using the MAC address. The communication may be published to aWeb page on a network. For example, pinging “NXT00ABCD” or opening anetwork web page at http://NXT00ABCD may be used to view the status ofthe wireless adaptor. When the first robot is plugged-in to the wirelessadapter, for example, using a USB connection, the wireless adaptor mayretrieve a first robot identification, for example, from memory or fromthe first robot. In one example, as shown in FIG. 11, the wirelessadaptor may send a request message 1130 to the first robot. In responseto the request message 1130, the first robot may provide a responsemessage 1140. The response message 1140 may include device information,such as a unique identifier for the enumerated first robot. The uniqueidentifier, such as the robot name 1150 or Bluetooth address 1160, maybe used as the first robot identification. The wireless adaptor maybegin communicating using the MAC address and the first robotidentification. Accordingly, the network device 110 may begin publishinginformation on the network using “NXT2901” or “HTTP://NXT2901.”Furthermore, the HTTP://NXT2901 web page would list out statusinformation obtained by talking to a port on the wireless adaptorconnected to the first robot and querying the first robot. The networkdevice 110 reads that information from the first robot and then makes itavailable via Windows NetBios (port 137) as well as responds todiscovery requests on port 30303 (Microchip discovery standard). Theeffect is that you can go to windows and refer to http://NXT2901 and geta web browser interface to the wireless module serving team 2901'srobot—regardless of which wireless module is used.

Various embodiments described herein can be used alone or in combinationwith one another. The foregoing detailed description has described onlya few of the many possible implementations. This detailed description isintended by way of illustration, and not by way of limitation. Allequivalents or reasonable substitutions are intended to be included inthis description.

1. A method comprising: establishing communication with a network devicevia a wireless network using an adapter identification that identifies awireless adapter; obtaining an adaptor-device identification thatidentifies both the wireless adaptor and a wired device coupled with thewireless adaptor; and communicating with the network device via thewireless network using the adaptor-device identification, theadaptor-device identification uniquely identifying the wired device. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the adaptor-device identificationdistinguishes the wired device from other wired devices connected to thewireless adaptor.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the wireless adaptoridentification is an address that is unique to the wireless adaptor andused to communicate with the wireless adaptor.
 4. The method of claim 1,further comprising: generating a wired device identification; bundlingthe wired device identification with a wireless adaptor identificationto obtain the adaptor-device identification; and receiving communicationfrom a wired device, wherein the communication includes theadaptor-device identification.
 5. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: routing the communication to the wired device in response toanalyzing the adaptor-device identification.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the wireless adaptor identification is a media access control(MAC) address and the wired device is coupled with the wireless adaptorvia universal serial bus (USB).
 7. A non-transitory computer readablestorage medium encoded with instructions capable of being executed by acomputer to: obtain an adaptor-device identification that identifiesboth a wireless adaptor and a wired device coupled with the wirelessadaptor; and communicate with a network device via a wireless networkusing the adaptor-device identification, the wired device beingdistinguishable from other wired devices using the adaptor-deviceidentification.
 8. The logic of claim 7, wherein the logic is executableto: generate a wired device identification; and bundle the wired deviceidentification with a wireless adaptor identification.
 9. The logic ofclaim 8, wherein the wireless adaptor identification is an address thatis unique to the wireless adaptor and used to communicate with thewireless adaptor.
 10. The logic of claim 7, wherein the logic isexecutable to: receive communication from a wired device; and transmitthe communication via the wireless network, the communication includingthe adaptor-device identification.
 11. The logic of claim 7, wherein thelogic is executable to: receive communication from the network devicevia the wireless network; and in response to analyzing theadaptor-device identification, routing the communication to the wireddevice.
 12. The logic of claim 11, wherein the logic is executable todetermine the wired device that the communication is being transmittedto based on the adaptor-device identification.
 13. The logic of claim 7,wherein the logic is executable to establish a network connection withthe network device via the wireless network.
 14. An apparatuscomprising: a memory storing adaptor identification information uniquelyidentifying the apparatus; a wireless communication interface configuredto communicate wirelessly with a network device using the adapteridentification information; and a plurality of wired connectorsconfigured to communicate with a plurality of wired devices and receivea plurality of wired device identification values from the plurality ofwired devices, wherein the apparatus is configured to communicatedifferently for each of the wired devices according to the plurality ofwired device identification values.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14,further comprising: a processor configured to distinguish communicationsfor each of the plurality of wired devices according to the plurality ofwired device identification values in order to facilitate communicationbetween the network device at the plurality of wired devices.
 16. Theapparatus of claim 14, further comprising: an internal power sourceindependent from the plurality of wired device; and a power supplyinterface configured to receive power from at least one of the pluralityof wired devices.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the apparatusis configured to receive power from the power supply interface until theat least one of the plurality of wired devices loses power.
 18. Theapparatus of claim 16, wherein the apparatus is configured to receivepower via the internal power source when none of the plurality of wiredevices are connected to the plurality of wired connectors.
 19. Theapparatus of claim 14, wherein the adaptor identification informationincludes a media access control (MAC) address of the apparatus.
 20. Theapparatus of claim 20, wherein the apparatus acts as a proxy for theplurality of wired devices with respect to the network device.